Archaeologists strike gold in quest to find Queen of Sheba's wealth | Science | The Guardian The Observer Archaeologists strike gold in quest to find Queen of Sheba's wealth A British excavation has struck archaeological gold with a discovery that may solve the mystery of where the Queen of Sheba derived her fabled treasures Archaeologist Louise Schofield stands in front of the mine, believed to have belonged to the Queen of Sheba, in northern Ethiopia. Photograph: The Tigray Trust Saturday 11 February 2012 19.35 EST First published on Saturday 11 February 2012 19.35 EST Close This article is 4 years old A British excavation has struck archaeological gold with a discovery that may solve the mystery of where the Queen of Sheba of biblical legend derived her fabled treasures. Almost 3,000 years ago, the ruler of Sheba, which spanned modern-day Ethiopia and Yemen, arrived in Jerusalem with vast quantities of gold to give to King Solomon. Now an enormous ancient goldmine, together with the ruins of a temple and the site of a battlefield, have been discovered in her former territory.

Louise Schofield, an archaeologist and former British Museum curator, who headed the excavation on the high Gheralta plateau in northern Ethiopia, said: "One of the things I've always loved about archaeology is the way it can tie up with legends and myths. The fact that we might have the Queen of Sheba's mines is extraordinary." An initial clue lay in a 20ft stone stele (or slab) carved with a sun and crescent moon, the "calling card of the land of Sheba", Schofield said. "I crawled beneath the stone – wary of a 9ft cobra I was warned lives here – and came face to face with an inscription in Sabaean, the language that the Queen of Sheba would have spoken." On a mound nearby she found parts of columns and finely carved stone channels from a buried temple that appears to be dedicated to the moon god, the main deity of Sheba, an 8th century BC civilisation that lasted 1,000 years. It revealed a victory in a battle nearby, where Schofield excavated ancient bones. Although local people still pan for gold in the river, they were unaware of the ancient mine.

Its shaft is buried some 4ft down, in a hill above which vultures swoop. An ancient human skull is embedded in the entrance shaft, which bears Sabaean chiselling. Sheba was a powerful incense-trading kingdom that prospered through trade with Jerusalem and the Roman empire. The queen is immortalised in Qur'an and the Bible, which describes her visit to Solomon "with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold and precious stones ... Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices." Although little is known about her, the queen's image inspired medieval Christian mystical works in which she embodied divine wisdom, as well as Turkish and Persian paintings, Handel's oratorio Solomon, and Hollywood films. Her story is still told across Africa and Arabia, and the Ethiopian tales are immortalised in the holy book the Kebra Nagast. Hers is said to be one of the world's oldest love stories. The Bible says she visited Solomon to test his wisdom by asking him several riddles.

Legend has it that he wooed her, and that descendants of their child, Menelik – son of the wise – became the kings of Abyssinia. Schofield will begin a full excavation Schofield said that as she stood on the ancient site, in a rocky landscape of cacti and acacia trees, it was easy to imagine the queen arriving on a camel, overseeing slaves and elephants dragging rocks from the mine. once she has the funds and hopes to establish the precise size of the mine, whose entrance is blocked by boulders. Tests by a gold prospector who alerted her to the mine show that it is extensive, with a proper shaft and tunnel big enough to walk along. Schofield was instrumental in setting up the multinational rescue excavations at the Roman city of Zeugma on the Euphrates before it was flooded for the Birecik dam. Her latest discovery was made during her environmental development work in Ethiopia, an irrigation, farming and eco-tourism project on behalf of the Tigray Trust , a charity she founded to develop a sustainable lifestyle for 10,000 inhabitants around Maikado, where people eke out a living from subsistence farming.

Sean Kingsley, archaeologist and author of God's Gold, said: "Where Sheba dug her golden riches is one of the great stories of the Old Testament. Timna in the Negev desert is falsely known as 'King Solomon's Mines', but anything shinier has eluded us. "The idea that the ruins of Sheba's empire will once more bring life to the villages around Maikado is truly poetic and appropriate. Making the past relevant to the present is exactly what archaeologists should be doing. " Terry Pruitt's Blog: A STUDY OF THE LOCATION OF SHEBA IN 1 KINGS 10 AND 1 CHRONICLES 9 Thoughts on Christianity and other random parts of my life. I wrote a journal for years before I started blogging and this blog is a natural extension of my journey. Saturday, December 17, 2011 A STUDY OF THE LOCATION OF SHEBA IN 1 KINGS 10 AND 1 CHRONICLES 9 I would like to thank Dr. Todd Beall for giving corrections to this paper. Errors are mine alone. Introduction The Queen of Sheba is never named in the Bible.

Though her country is named as Sheba, we do not know its geographic location definitively. Three major views of where Sheba is located are: in the northern Arabian Peninsula called Wadi Es-Seba; southern Arabian Peninsula in what is now Yemen; and in Ethiopia.[1] While there are many, some fanciful, proposals for Sheba's location, this paper will confine its discussion to southern Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia. Justification for this approach is that in the NT Jesus calls this queen the "Queen of the South." (Matt 12:42, Luke 11:31) This gives a cardinal direction from the land of Israel: south. The idiom used by Jesus suggests a lengthy distance from which the Queen came. The idiom use support an argument to preclude the northern Arabian Peninsula view.[2] This paper will examine the two primary texts concerning the Queen of Sheba, 1 Kgs 10 and 2 Chr 9, for clues as to the location of the Queen's home country. Also by way of method, this paper will look at other Biblical texts, extra-biblical texts, cultural features, and archeological evidence relevant to identifying the geographic location of Sheba.

The evidence points to Sheba being located in what is now Yemen east of Sana'a, but quite possibly certain elements of cultural heritage of Sheba may have been transferred to what is now Ethiopia. 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9 and Other Passages The two passages in 1 Kgs 10 and 2 Chr 9 speak of the laudable attributes of Solomon. The first is his wisdom which is recognized internationally by the Queen of Sheba and unnamed parties from other nations (1 Kgs 10: 24; 2 Chr 9: 22, 23). The second laudable attribute was building of wealth from international relations through gifts, tribute, and trade (1 Kgs 9:28; 10:10-12, 14-22, 25-29; 2 Chr 8:18; 9:9-11, 13-21, 24-28). These glories are summarized by the inspired writer, who says: "Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom" (2 Chr 9:22 ESV).

The explicit motivation for the Queen of Sheba to visit Solomon was to learn of his wisdom, but the text also suggests that international trade related to the royal visit. Solomon sent out men on ships that acquired gold, apparently from some sort of international trade (1 Kgs 9:26-28; 2 Chr 8:17,18). The Queen of Sheba brought gold and spices in abundance to give as gifts Solomon (1 Kgs 10: 2, 10; 2 Chr 9: 1, 9). Solomon also gave to the Queen of Sheba whatever she desired (1 Kgs 10: 13; 2 Chr 9: 12).[3] Strictly speaking the Scriptures says that the goods which were transferred were gifts. Werner Keller says that the Queen of Sheba's expedition was to secure access to trade routes.

Keller believes that her purpose was ensure that the ascending position of Israel in the international trade scene did not negatively affect her country's trade.[4] As this paper examines 1 Kgs 10 and 2 Chr 9 for clues regarding the location of Sheba it would be compelling to find a land which is involved in international trade of spices, precious gems and gold, had a high regard for wisdom, records a female monarch, and was called Sheba. Other passages in the Bible discuss Sheba as an area occupied by the descendents of a patriarch called Sheba. Gen 10:7 places Sheba, along with his brother Dedan, as the grandson of Cush and the son of Raamah. The Gen 10:7 reference groups Sheba with Egypt, Cush, and Put, all descendents of Ham. The Allen Ross places the location of these descendent tribes on both sides of the Red Sea, on both the Arabian western coast and in Africa in the areas of southern Egypt, Sudan, and northern Ethiopia.[5] However in Genesis 10:28 a different Sheba is a distant descendent of Shem.

This Semitic Sheba lived, along with the other sons of Joktan, in the territory from Mesha extending toward Sephar. Unger's Bible Dictionary places Mesha as a place in Arabia Petraea, on the east side of the Dead Sea and south toward the Arabian Peninsula.[6] Unger's places Sephar on the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula, on the western part of modern Yemen. The modern name for the site is called Zhafar (ظفار) and is located over sixty miles south of the Yemen capital Sana'a.[7] Genesis 25:3 is a third place where a patriarch is named Sheba, this time the grandson of Abraham and his concubine Keturah. Strangely, Sheba is once again paired with a brother Dedan. Scholars who hold to a late, Babylonian exile period for the composition of the Pentateuch would hold that these are three different traditions that explain the origin of the nation of Sheba. However, it is also possible that the pairing of the names Sheba and Dedan fit together in the ancient world, so that it was common to give brothers or twins these two names.

Some have called names that seem to fit together for twins, twin names. The practice of pairing certain names by sound or other cultural features is common in the American culture.[8] The name Sheba in Hebrewשְׁבָ֖א has the same vowels as Dedanדְּדָ֑ן producing assonance.[9] This second set of brothers called Sheba and Dedan, grandsons of Abraham, the Bible Knowledge Commentary places along the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula.[10] All three Genesis references of the three Shebas suggest the Red Sea region is the location of Sheba. The Gen 10:7 leave the option open for either side of the Red Sea, while Gen 10: 28 and Gen 25:3 points to Arabia. More particularly, Gen 10:28 points to the southern Arabian Peninsula as the best location for Sheba. The book of Job 1:15 mentions the Sabeans שְׁבָא֙ plundering Job's livestock. The Hebrew word is the same, though the English form of Sabea does seem different.

Job 6:9 talks about the traveling merchants from Sheba. Job seems to re-enforce the idea that international trade was important to the inhabitants of Sheba via caravans, but also at least some of the time the people of Sheba took to raiding other nations. Psalm 72 mentions Sheba twice. In Ps 72:10 the kings of Seba and Sheba are discussed. The spelling of Seba and Sheba are easy to distinguish in the Hebrew text though they sound very much the same (שְׁבָ֥א וּ֜סְבָ֗א ). Interestingly, the translators of the LXX chose to use the word Ἀράβων (Arabia) to designate the location of Sheba and used the word Σαβα for Seba. This would suggest that the land of Sheba is on the Arabian Peninsula in the eye of the LXX translator of Ps 72.

The HarpersCollins Concise Atlas of the Bible places Seba on the west side of the Red Sea in what is now Sudan, while it places Sheba on the east side of the Red Sea in what is now the Southern Arabian Peninsula.[11] Ps 72:10 suggests that the king from Sheba brought gifts to Solomon. Perhaps Ps 71:10 use of the male form of the word for royalty is to represent both genders, or perhaps the Queen was an emissary for both her and her husband. The poetic language of the passage is probably best understood to mean that the male gender is representing the kingdoms of the two sides of the Red Sea. Ps 72: 15 seems to indicate that Sheba is a source of gold. Isaiah 60:6 tells of camels coming from several nations including Sheba. It also indicates that camels will bring both gold and frankincense. The scholar seeking to properly locate Sheba should be looking for a land that has these three items: camels, frankincense, and gold.

The mention of the camel is in agreement with the Queen of Sheba bringing a camel train with her in 1 Kgs 10:2 and 2 Chr 9:1. Joseph P. Free says that camels had come into use just prior to the time of the Queen of Sheba. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser (circ. 827 B.C.) shows a camel with a saddle and rider.[12] Keller says that camels changed how trade from the Arabian Peninsula was carried out. Prior to circa 1000 B.C. donkeys had to travel a circuitous route from watering hole to watering hole. Camels could take a more direct route, saving time due to their ability travel greater distances with less watering stops.[13] Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman state that the trading relationship with southern Arabia to be an important trading relationship.[14] Though camels' range of habitation includes both locations, Southern Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia, the trading caravans coming to and from southern Arabia are more famous. Jeremiah 6:20 indicates that frankincense was exported from the land of Sheba.

The ancient trade of frankincense came from cities and regions in both what is present day Yemen and Oman. The trade of frankincense went historically east by ship to various ports. However, the trade heading west went via camel train over land.[15] Frankincense can be and is grown in Africa today.[16] Though both sides of the Red Sea are able to grow frankincense, the trade of this aromatic resin is better known from the southern Arabian Peninsula. Ezekiel 27: 22, 23 characterize Sheba as a trading partner who dealt in all kinds of spices, all kinds of precious stones and gold. Later in Ez 38:13 Sheba is listed among other nations who would accuse Gog and Magog of plundering them. The best information from Ezekiel is that the land of Sheba traded in spices, precious stones, and gold. This characterization points slightly toward Southern Arabian Peninsula being the location of Sheba. Extra-Biblical Text The Greek geographer Strabo (64/63 BC – ca. AD 24) places Sabea in the southern Arabian Peninsula. He calls their capital city Mariaba (Marib).

He says that there are four principle tribes of southern Arabia; by the Minaeans, on the side towards the Red Sea, whose largest city is Carna or Carnana; next to these, by the Sabaeans (sic), whose metropolis is Mariaba; third, by Cattabanians, whose territory extends down to the straits and the passage across the Arabian Gulf, and whose royal seat is called Tamna; and, farthest toward the east, the Chatramotitae, whose city is Sabata.[17] Further he quotes Eratosthenes describing the products of the land of Sabea as being myrrh, frankincense, and balsam. He confirms an abundance of gold and silver in the land. He discusses close the Sabean economic relationship with Ethiopia and how the Sabeans sail across Red Sea to obtain spices from the Ethiopia. Strabo describes Sabean trading relationship with Syria and Mesopotamia.[18] The Jewish historian Josephus places the kingdom of Sheba as being in Egypt and Ethiopia.[19] Keller says that when the Romans came to Palestine they found a balsam plantation near Jericho.

Josephus said that the balsam seeds were a gift to Solomon from the Queen of Sheba. The seeds were then cultivated so that balsam became a product of Judah and Israel (Ez 27:17).[20] While he says Sheba is in Ethiopia, his explanation of the balsam plantation points more to Arabia. The Qur'an contains a surah (chapter) which mentions directly the story of the Queen of Sheba. In surah 27:22-44 there is a discussion of the Queen and Solomon, however, the story deviates from the Biblical account in many ways. The emphasis is primary about conversion to the true religion. This section does not support a specific location for Sheba; however, the Arabic word Saba (سَبَإٍ) is used in another surah called by Saba (Sheba) (سَبَإٍ). The surah called سَبَإٍ (Saba) describes Allah's judgment on the people of Saba (Sheba) who had enjoyed agricultural production from a dam they used to store seasonal rains. Allah causes the dam to fail and disaster comes on the region.

This location is known by historians and archeologists as the Marib Dam in Yemen.[21] The Ethiopians claim to have their own extra-biblical story of Sheba called The Kebra Nagast. The Kebra Nagast text clearly identifies Queen as being from Ethiopia. The Kebra Nagast also says that she had a son fathered by Solomon. This son, named BAYNA-LEḤKEM, came to his father Solomon. He showed himself by his looks and a ring to be the son of Solomon. It says that custom of Ethiopia was to be ruled by a virgin queen until the son of Solomon.[22] Today Ethiopians count that the royal family of Haile Selassie I to be a descendent of this union.[23] By Ethiopian tradition the city of Axum is the home of the Queen of Sheba and the Ark of the Covenant resides in Axum. A monastery in Lake Tana claims to have artifacts from the Temple from Jerusalem. They believe that Solomon gave these items as gifts to his son.[24] These traditions show present-day cultural artifacts that attempt to connect the Queen of Sheba with Ethiopian history.

However, the weakness of these claims is that it seems difficult to understand how Solomon would give items from the Temple in Jerusalem to his son in Ethiopia. The Scripture says that Solomon loved many foreign women but it does not say that he had a liaison with the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 11:1).[25] Lastly, there seems to be no linguistic connection between Axum and the name Sheba. Archeological Evidence The Marib area of Yemen has been hostile to archaeological digs. A pioneering work was done in 1950 by Wendell Phillips and W.F. Albright in Marib. They wrote a book called Qataban and Sheba. However, their work did not directly expose ruins of a civilization from the time of Solomon but a later civilization. An assassination plot against the archaeological team cut the work short as they fled for safety.[26] Rather than revealing directly the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba, archeology has been able to establish a connection between ancient Israel and the Sabea and its capital city Marib. André Lemaire discusses in his 2010 article an inscription made on bronze from circa 600 B.C.

that has been discovered which show a trading relationship with the "towns of Judea". The words "towns of Judea" is written in the Sabean language. Besides this find from Yemen, he also notes evidence of Sabean (south Arabian) writing on several artifacts found in modern Israel.[27] Conclusion The location of Sheba cannot be proven beyond a shadow of doubt. However the most plausible answer is shown to be Sabea kingdom with its capital city of Marib. The name Sabea fits better linguistically to be Sheba than the Ethiopian city of Axum. The trade of frankincense, other spices, precious stones and gold fit better with Saba on the southwest Arabian Peninsula than Ethiopia. Camel trains from the southern Arabian Peninsula are well known, but camels are native to Ethiopia as well. The camel train better fits with Arabia. Though Josephus and The Kebra Nagast clearly state that Sheba is Ethiopia, the evidence from LXX, the Qur'an, and Strabo give strong evidence for southern Arabia. The Kebra Nagast connects a female leader with Ethiopia, but this fact does not preclude the nation in the southern Arabian Peninsula from having a ruling matriarch.

No evidence points to either Ethiopia or the southern Arabian Peninsula having a culture that particularly values wisdom. Of course it may be that seeking wisdom was peculiar to the Queen and not her culture. Alternatively, perhaps evidence of a culture valuing wisdom a great deal is yet to be revealed. Historically there was a close association between the two shores of the southern end of the Red Sea. Before Arabic became the language in Sabea after the rise of Islam, there was a linguistic affinity between Sabea and Ethiopia. In some periods of history kingdoms stretched to include land on both sides of the Red Sea. Jewish communities reside in both regions and share many pre-Talmudic features.[28] Ethiopia historically shared cultural tradition with Yemen. The evidence shows that Sheba was in the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is modern day Yemen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: The Queen Of Sheba Print this page Layers of the legend The Queen of Sheba - an exotic and mysterious woman of power - is immortalised in the world's great religious works, among them the Hebrew Bible and the Muslim Koran.

She also appears in Turkish and Persian painting, in Kabbalistic treatises, and in medieval Christian mystical works, where she is viewed as the embodiment of Divine Wisdom and a foreteller of the cult of the Holy Cross. In Africa and Arabia her tale is still told to this day and, indeed, her tale has been told and retold in many lands for nearly 3,000 years. The sources and history of the legend, however, are elusive. Hollywood, too, has fallen under her spell, releasing its own polished epic version of her story in the glossy Solomon and Sheba of 1959. The sources and history of the legend, however, are elusive. No other popular heroine is so celebrated but so puzzling. Trying to ascertain who she may really have been is an arduous task, and a question soon arises. Why, if so little is known about her, has she become such an important figure? The tales of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba have, after all, even provided the founding myths for the modern states of Israel and Ethiopia.

Top Jewish legend Ancient trade routes in the Middle East and Europe © Among all the famous story-tellers in the world, along with the Celts, the Greeks and the Indians, the Jews have left one of the greatest legacies. The Bible tales were written down in the late Iron Age and into the period of Persian and Greek rule in the Near East (600-200 BC). They have proved amazingly tenacious and enduring - their extraordinary impact on the history of civilisation due mainly to their importance to the three monotheistic religions. The first appearance of the tale of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon is a short narrative in the Old Testament. And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty.

So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.(I Kings 10 v.1-13) This is a story that so far has proved impossible to verify. But it provides us with just enough hints and clues to be tantalising and mysterious. The 'precious stones', 'spices' and 'incense' that the queen brought as gifts from her homeland must denote a country rich in gems and incense trees. Only a few countries can boast these attributes - countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, and Oman and Yemen in the southern Arabian Peninsula. So could the land of Sheba have been one of those? And what about the name itself? What evidence is there for a land called Sheba? Top Unpicking the clues Ethiopian and Islamic cultures both share the story of the Queen of Sheba © There are in fact several people called Sheba in the Bible, one is a descendant of Noah's son Shem, and another of his son Ham. But it is also referred to as a place.

The Book of Ezekiel (27 v.22-24) tells us that the merchants trading with Tyre came from Sheba and Raamah, and brought with them spices, precious stones and gold - the exact same goods that the Queen of Sheba brought with her when she came to visit Solomon in Jerusalem. And, though historic proof is lacking for the Queen of Sheba herself, there is plenty of textual evidence to support this great kingdom of Saba. But the most popular translation of the Hebrew word 'Sheba' is the Arabic 'Saba' - referring to a great kingdom, the Sabaean kingdom, in what is today Yemen. And, though historic proof is lacking for the Queen of Sheba herself, there is plenty of textual evidence to support this great kingdom of Saba. In Assyrian texts, kings by the name of 'Itamru' and 'Karib-ilu', have been associated with kings of Saba named 'Yitha'amars' and 'Karibil', in Yemeni texts Top Islamic tradition The ruins of Marib, the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Saba. The Queen of Sheba has been said to have ruled here.

© Even more interesting are the current excavations of an ancient temple in the old market town of Marib - in the lands thought to have once been part of the ancient kingdom of Saba. The temple is known as the Mahram Bilqis or Temple of Bilqis - and Bilqis is the name given to the Queen of Saba in the later stories in the Islamic tradition. In the Koran, written earlier, the Queen of Saba is nameless. Her story there shares some of the familiar lines of the Bible version, but adds a few of its own. [Sheba's] child had one normal foot and one goat's hoof. God, we are told, had enabled Solomon to converse with birds and one day noticed that the Lapwing was missing. When the bird returned, she explained that she had been travelling in a foreign land, known as Saba, which was ruled over by a queen who was immensely rich and sat on a throne of gold and silver. Solomon then invited the queen to visit him. On arrival she entered the palace that he had had specially built for her. The walls and floor of the building were made of glass, and water flowed over the floor.

She picked up her skirt to walk over the flood and so revealed her legs, which were covered with hair, like a goat's. (A later Arabic tale tells of how the Queen of Sheba came to have a goat's hoof as a foot. Whilst pregnant, her mother saw a handsome goat which she craved for, 'after the manner of women who are with child', and when her own daughter was born, the child had one normal foot and one goat's hoof.) Top Ethiopian tradition Temple of Hatshepsut, whose walls show a 15th-century BC trade mission to the land of 'Punt'. Historians believe this kingdom was located in what is now Ethiopia. © Of all the stories of the Queen of Sheba, those of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa are those that probably retain the most resonance today with the people who tell them. The stories are immortalised in the Ethiopian holy book - the Kebra Nagast - where we find accounts of the queen's hairy hoof, her trip to Solomon and her seduction. But these tales go further.

Here, the queen returns to her capital, Aksum, in northern Ethiopia, and months later gives birth to Solomon's son, who is named Menelik, meaning 'Son of the Wise'. The story goes that years later Menelik travelled to Jerusalem to see his father, who greeted him with joy and invited him to remain there to rule after his death. But Menelik refused and decided to return home. Under cover of darkness he left the city - taking with him its most precious relic, the Ark of the Covenant. He took it back to Aksum, where it still resides today, in a specially built treasury in the courtyard of St Mary's Church. The importance of the queen, the Ark of the Covenant and the Kebra Nagast in Ethiopian history cannot be overstated. Through their reading of the Kebra Nagast, Ethiopians see their country as God's chosen country, the final resting place that he chose for the Ark - and Sheba and her son were the means by which it came there. Thus, Sheba is the mother of their nation, and the kings of the land have divine right to rule because they are directly descended from her.

Emperor Haile Selassie even had that fact enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution of 1955. Haile Selassie was not, however, the first Emperor to publicly declare the importance of the Kebra Nagast. London's National Archives contain letters dating from 1872, written by Prince Kasa (later King John IV) of Ethiopia to Queen Victoria, in which he writes (translated): There is a book called Kebra Nagast which contains the law of the whole of Ethiopia, and the names of the shums (governors), churches and provinces are in this book. I pray you will find out who has got this book and send it to me, for in my country my people will not obey my orders without it. On Victoria's permit, the book was returned to Ethiopia, and it is now kept in Raguel Church in Addis Ababa, where a front page inscription explains its history. Ultimately though, there is no primary evidence, archaeological or textual, for the queen in Ethiopia. The impressive ruins at Aksum are a thousand years too late for a queen contemporary with Solomon - at least on his traditional dating to the tenth century BC.

And the great Sabaean kingdom in southern Arabia, for which we do have textual evidence, lists names of ruling kings at the time when Sheba is supposed to have sat on the throne. Top An enigma But the story must be based on something. If the Bible version was written down centuries after Sheba's time, as many think, to glorify Israel and the reign of King Solomon, it may represent a time of great expansion, a time when the world was opening up for the very first time. Could Sheba's embassy to Israel be the reflection of one of the first great trade missions in the world? Could Sheba's embassy to Israel be the reflection of one of the first great trade missions in the world Interestingly there are ancient texts that do talk about powerful queens of northern Arabia in the seventh and eighth century BC - the time that some historians in Israel are tempted to place the historical King Solomon. As for the queen herself, her history remains an enigma. She was a woman of power, an adoring mother and a mysterious lover - also a founder of nations and a demon with a cloven hoof. It is perhaps these many strands to her tale that are in the end the real key to her popularity.

The Queen of Sheba by H St John Philby (Quartet Books, 1981) From The Beast to the Blonde by Marina Warner (Vintage , 1995) The Queen of Sheba and her Only Son Menyelek by E Wallis Budge (Oxford University Press, 1932) The Bible Unearthed by Israel Finkelstein (Simon and Schuster, 2002) The Queen of Sheba: Treasures from Ancient Yemen edited by John Simpson (British Museum Press, 2002) Ancient Ethiopia by David Phillipson (British Museum Press, 1998) The Monuments of Aksum by David Phillipson (British Museum Press, 1998) Arabia and the Arabs from the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam by Robert G Hoyland (Routledge, 2001) The Southern Gates of Arabia by Freya Stark (John Murray, 2003 ) Orientalism by Edward Said (Penguin Books, 1991) Top About the author Michael Wood is the writer and presenter of many critically acclaimed television series, including In the Footsteps of...series.

Born and educated in Manchester, Michael did postgraduate research on Anglo-Saxon history at Oxford. Since then he has made over 60 documentary films and written several best selling books. His films have centred on history, but have also included travel, politics and cultural history. Queen of Sheba in Yemen Sheba: The Ancient Empire The country Sheba or Saba, whose name means Host of Heaven and peace, was Abyssinia. Located in southwest Arabia on the eastern tip of the Red Sea, Sheba was thriving about 3000 years ago and occupied 483,000 square miles of mountains, valleys (wadis) and deserts in the area of present day Yemen. Some historians claim that Ethiopia, on the western end of the Red Sea, was also part of Sheba's territory. Sheba was a wealthy country with an advanced irrigation system. Its people, the Sabaeans, built dams as high as 60 feet with spans of almost a mile. They cut large earthen wells ito the Earth, which allowed them to irrigate their abundant gardens. Sheba was also rich in gold and other precious stones.

But her real wealth was in her exclusive trade in frankincense and exotic spices sought by neighboring kingdoms. Sheba also had a very lucrative caravan trade. By 1000 B.C., camels frequently traveled the 1400 miles up the "Incense Road" and along the Red Sea to Israel. The Road began in the port of Al Mukulla and Bir Ali where ships would bring goods from distant India and the Orient. Frankincense is unique to Yemen since it is derived from the sap of a certain tree that grows only in Yemen. Frankincense was used as an offering to the gods and its rich perfumed smoke would rise like prayers to the heavens. It's aroma also made it valuable during cremations and it was often heaped on funeral pyres. Another Sabaean spice was Myrrh, an ingredient in fragrant oils and cosmetics. It was also used in preparing bodies for burial. The Sabaeans have been described as a tall and commanding people, both woolly-haired and straight-haired. Semitic in origin, they are believed to have been descendents of the Cush of the Bible.

The sacred Ethiopian book which establishes the founder of the Ethiopian dynasty as the son of Solomon and Sheba, suggests that the Sabaeans were black. "Ye are black of face - but if God illumineth your hearts, nothing can injure you," priest Azariah says to the Queen and her people in the Kebra Negast.(1) Because of its isolation, Sheba was secure from military invasion for at least 500 years, and was independent and at peace with its neighbors during the 11th and 10th century B.C. History reveals that at least five kings preceded the Queen of Sheba - among them Iti'amra and Karibi-ilu. Yet Arabian documents portray all of Arabia as matriarchal and ruled by queens for over 1000 years. In Ethiopia, the Kebra Negast even refers to a law established in Sheba that only a woman could reign, and that she must be a virgin queen. Numerous legends refer to the female-centered clans, matriarchal practices, and matrilineal inheritance of ancient Arabia and surrounding countries. In Assyria, the head of a family was called the "shebu," and was originally a female, or matriarch.

In other mideastern lands, polyandry was sanctioned - a woman could marry several husbands, who left their own families to live with hers; she could also initiate divorce by turning her tent to face east for three nights in a row. Before the onset of patriarchy, women may have experienced superior - or at least equal - rights with men. Since Sheba was a center of astronomical wisdom and the Queen or King was chief Astronomer and Astrologer. Religious life involved worship of the Sun and Moon. Shams was the Sun god. ViewZone visited the recently uncovered Temple of Shams in 2001 (photo below). In the Kebra Negast, the Queen tells Solomon, "We worship the sun...for he cooketh our food, and moreoever he illumineth the darkness, and removeth fear; we call him 'our King,' and we call him 'our Creator'....And there are others among our subjects.... some worship stones, and some worship trees, and some worship carved figures, and some worship images of gold and silver."(2) The Great Goddess who dwelt in the sacred black aniconic stone was given the title Shayba by the Arabic-Aramaen people.

Shayba represented the Moon in its threefold aspect - waxing, (maiden), full (pregnant mother), and waning (old wise woman or crone). But the primary Sabaean Moon god was Ilmukah or Ilumguh, identified with the god Sin of Assyro-Babylonian mythology. Sin was portrayed as an old man with an azure beard, the color of lapis lazuli, and a turbaned head. Wearing a crown shaped like a full moon, Sin rode a crescent moon-boat from which he navigated the night sky. Also called He-Whose-Deep-Heart-No-God-Can-Penetrate, he dispersed evil and darkness, and inspired his believers with dreams and prophecies. A Moon goddess worshipped by the Sabaeans was Astarte, or Ashtart, whom they called Astar, which means "womb." The giver and destroyer of life, Astar was Queen of Heaven and Mother of all Deities. Arriving from heaven as a ball of fire, and accompanied by a lioness, she was pictured with horns, and a disc of the sun above her forehead.

The earliest known Arabian temple was at Marib , capital of Sheba, and was called Mahram Bilqus, "precincts of the Queen of Sheba." In Arab lore, this queen was named Bilqus or Balkis; in Ethiopia, Makeda (also Magda, Maqda and Makera), meaning "Greatness." Years later, the historian Josephus, referred to her as Nikaulis, Queen of Ethiopia and Egypt. ViewZone visited the site in 2001, but the following pictures (below) are from the University of Calgary Expedition in 2000. The site is now closed because of political unrest but already some astounding finds have been made. The site as it began to be excavated in Marib , Yemen. Most of the subsequent excavations focused on the area with the columns and part of the exterior wall. (Notice the people sitting on the wall to get an idea of the scale.) [A]- The mysterious writing on the exterior wall is examined. [B]- A team from the University of Calgary using ground penetrating radar. [C]- A view of the exterior of the oval wall that surrounds the Temple.

[D]- One of several bronze plaques that appear to be a type of pre-cast, movable type.

Question: In which present day country is the Biblical land of Sheba?
Answer: Yemen